1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to lacrosse stick heads and is directed more particularly to a lacrosse stick head having an improved lip portion structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lacrosse sticks generally are well known in the art and typically comprise a head frame including a throat portion, at which a stick handle is affixed to the head, and a pair of side walls extending from the throat portion and joined to a lip portion. Netting is supported by the frame and defines a ball pocket.
As the game of lacrosse has progressed and quickened, the art of passing the ball and shooting for goal has become one of great finesse, as well as time-honored power and determination. In recent times, passes and shots on goal have become in many instances wrist-flicking motions, rather than full stick swings, as in previous eras. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/628,193, filed Dec. 14, 1990, in the names of Joseph Taylor, William H. Brine, III and Peter J. Brine, there is shown a lacrosse stick head in which the ball pocket is located forwardly of the throat, rather than in the more traditional throat area, to position the ball for finesse shooting and passing. The head having the advanced position pocket is shown in this application for illustrative purposes, though the invention herein finds facility in the more traditional heads, as well.
Heretofore, it has been customary for the lip portion of the head frame to comprise a wall having a more pronounced slant than the side walls and throat wall of the frame, to permit the ball readily to roll thereover in passage from the netting to flight. The upper edge of the lip portion wall frequently is a continuation of the upper edge of the side walls and in substantially the same plane. In some cases, there is a slight dip in the lip wall upper edge, particularly around the mid-point thereof. In the side-to-side dimension, the lip walls have been straight or slightly curved.
It has been found that to improve a lacrosse stick head for passing and shooting, it is beneficial to have the lip wall at a substantial angle of inclination, relative to the side walls, and to have the upper edge of the lip wall substantially below the plane of the upper edges of the side walls, and further to have in the side-to-side dimension, the lip wall were pronouncedly rounded. All of these factors serve to place the lip end of the head in a generally U-shaped configuration so as to provide an opening in alignment with the ball pocket, whether in the throat or at an advanced position, and generally nearer the level of the ball pocket. Such an arrangement provides, in effect, a conduit for the ball, leading from the netting to flight.